Tuesday Treasures

Tuesday posts are dedicated to things I love, that make me happy.

I had a long afternoon yesterday. I made a commitment to take a family member a few places, not realizing it would take all afternoon or that the wind would come up and be freezing. Needless to say I was dragging when I got home at suppertime.

When I stepped through the door into my warm cozy kitchen, there were a couple of packages waiting for me. My husband had picked up the mail. Inside one was an order from Papaya that I'd made, sort of an extravagance after Christmas. The purchases were wrapped in this beautiful paper and I was delighted!

As it turns out, the datebook I ordered has a bit of a strong smell and I'm sensitive to smells so I may not be able to use it. The calender was amazing and perfectly suited to my daughter, so I am treating her :) But I am still smiling at how a little thing turned my day around.

A perfect Tuesday Treasure.
Love to hear about yours.

Disencumber

Encumber:

1. To weigh down heavily, lay too much upon
2. To hinder, impede, or clutter with useless articles or unwanted additions
3. To handicap or burden 

I keep reading blogs about having a word for the year. I've been pondering this for several days and there it was- DISENCUMBER. I wasn't even sure what it meant. So I looked it up. My dictionary didn't have it so I looked up encumber. Hmmm. So in order to disencumber, I would be getting rid of unnecessary weights or things which have outgrown their use.
This morning I went out to work with my trainer who is helping me with muscle strength because of a shoulder problem. She understands my strengths and weaknesses. I used to be afraid of weights because of past injury, but now I realize it's about using the right weight for me and in the proper way. Kate has been a Godsend.
I felt so good when I left the gym this morning- refreshed and encouraged - although it was a struggle to get there. Sometimes it is a struggle to find the right balance, use wisdom, set boundaries, get rid of things that are no longer useful. I'm not always sure how to make the necessary changes.
According to my word- DISENCUMBER- I'm going to learn.

Top Ten Reads of 2010

I love libraries, bookstores, second-hand bookstores, Amazon books, Shelfari, book clubs, flea market book tables...okay, you've got the picture.
So when I saw this post on Relyn's blog about her top 10 reads, I couldn't resist! 
http://comesitbymyfire.blogspot.com/2011/01/pleasures-of-book.html

Here are my favorites from the 79 read last year. Check out my Shelfari for details.

                         Paula's Top Ten Reads of 2010

• The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series by Neta Jackson
• The Road to Eden's Ridge by M.L.Rose 
•  Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury
•  Beaded  Hope by Cathy Ligget
• Return to Me by Robin Lee Hatcher
• Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck and all the books that followed
•  Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe
•  The Shulamite's Cry by Mike D Brumback
• Sarah's Key by  Tatiana de Rosnay

and drum roll please.... #1 BOOK ( in a close race with Sarah's Key) is

This blog post took FOREVER! My fonts kept changing color, etc. Hope it was worth it :)

Want to Have Fun?

I really want to post everyday this year, at least weekdays, so gotta get creative.

Let's call Fridays the day we discover new blogs in the blogging world (haven't thought of a name yet).

Today is Friday! Let's have some fun :)

 Here's a new blog for you to check out with a couple of my favorite Christian fiction writers with a sense of humor. I found this blog today.
I loved "Just Between You and Me." by Jenny B. Jones. She is the Friday blogger  on Southern Belle View.
http://www.southernbelleview.blogspot.com/

Love to hear from you on any favorite or new blogs!

Happy To Be Me

I was driving down the road yesterday and it came to me that I had posted Tuesday Treasure Challenge on Wednesday.

Oh how badly I wanted to turn the car around and change that post! But God is in the business of setting me free from every last drop of perfectionism- at least the harmful parts. Then a thought occurred to me that perhaps someone might even get a chuckle out of it.

I reached over and turned on the  CD that I had been listening to by Joyce Meyer titled "Happy to be Me.". She immediately said, "God uses cracked pots." We don't have to be perfect. As a matter of fact, our very weaknesses enable God's power in our lives as we believe and trust in Him.

Tuesday continued to be a day when I felt out-of-sorts and tired, but I know whose I am and cracked pot that I am, I am happy to be me.

Tuesday Treasures Challenge

A daily blogger.
Hmmm, is it possible to be inspired, to have enough pictures, to stay transparent on a regular basis?

I thought I would begin with Tuesday treasures. I'll blog about things that I love, that bring me happiness.

This photo was taken in a little coffee shop in Camden, Maine. We were there with my daughter and her family. I took a pic of the ceiling because I love lights and dangling objects. I set it as my desktop background today to make me smile.

If you have a blog, want to jump in and participate? Post about your treasures, delights, things that make you smile and come back here and leave your link in the comment section. If you don't have a blog, tell us about one each week.
Let me know how easy it is to leave a comment or difficult and I'll see what I can adjust to the settings.

Perpetual Calendar Journal

Standing in my kitchen this morning,I threw up my arms and shouted hooray!
My daughter, Amber, created a postcard journal for her teenage daughter, McKenna  and I wanted to make one for myself but had a few misgivings. One was that my creativity level has been at an all time low for a few years.
Today that all changed!
I started my perpetual journal and managed to make the first month's card. Yay!
I've been keeping regular journals for over 30 years, 2011 being no exception. I write the weather, daily happenings, scripture promises, what God is speaking over my life and how I am feeling that day.
I am also writing in a devotional journal on God's goodness that I purchased by Gloria Copeland, in which I already recorded a poem of sorts.
Here is dearly hoping that this creativity continues and increases in 2011.
Find the original idea at this address:
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/12/diy-project-vintage-postcard-calendar-journal.html